A Pocketful of Melodies
by Ceyrai
Summary: 5986. "You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, Gokudera-kun, I'm telling you why..." / A literal pocketful of melodies. Music shuffle meme.


**Ceyrai Says: **Out of boredom from studying Anatomy, I decided to try the very popular Music Shuffle Meme with Gokudera and Haru. I can't believe how hard it actually is!

The rules for it are:

1. Choose a character, pairing, or fandom you like.  
>2. Turn on your music player and put it on randomshuffle.  
>3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!<br>4. Do ten of these, then post them.

Needless to say, I cheated with the time frame thing by _juuuust _a bit. It was still a lot of fun being pressured by time, though.

_General Notes:  
>Pair<em>: 5986_  
>Universe<em>: Canon, at different parts of the timeline._  
>Warnings<em>: Mild swearing._  
>Rip-offs: <em>None_  
>Disclaimer<em>:I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, the songs used, nor any other copyrighted items mentioned.

* * *

><p><strong>Pocketful of Melodies<strong>_  
>someone who loves you is thinking of you<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Come Right Out and Say It<strong>  
>Relient K (Five Score and Seven Years Ago)<em><br>3:01_

She didn't want to look at him, knowing what he wanted to say but didn't say, just to spare her feelings. But she didn't want her feelings spared – she just wanted this sick merry-go-round to end. _Just say you hate my guts and be done with it_, she thought, trying not to think of the prickly heat behind her eyes. _Stop making me feel I have a chance at happiness._

"Dammit, Haru!" he growled, grabbing her shoulders, and she didn't notice he had used her name instead of his usual epithet for her. "Why don't you understand what I want to say? I want this stupid game to end, and you do too, I know it."

"I know what you want to say!" she cried out, and he startled. "So just say it, stop beating around the bush, so we can get on with our lives! Because I…" She sniffled. "Because like you said, I don't like this stupid game anym-"

"_I love you!_" Gokudera spat, and you'd think by the way he said it, it was meant as an insult. But the blooming pink across his nose said otherwise, and Haru's eyes widened as she tried to register what he just said.

* * *

><p><strong>Christmas Medley<strong>  
>KOKIA (Christmas Gift)<em><br>13:21_

Snow was falling outside the Vongola Manor and the girls were all aflutter in light of the season. The boys had, one by one, dropped whatever Mafia business they were doing and joined the girls in putting up the decorations in their little common corner of the Manor.

Except Gokudera.

The perpetual workaholic was still in his office, grumbling as he picked up the paperwork Yamamoto and Ryohei had left in favor of the impromptu Christmas Eve celebration. "Stupid holiday, we'd get much more done if we'd ignored it," he grumbled to himself.

"Aw, don't say that," a cheerful voice said through a crack in the wooden door. Said door was thrown open, revealing Haru in the most ridiculous Christmas outfit he had ever seen – antlers on her head, a short red dress with white fur trimming, green leggings, and cartoon Santa-print galoshes which were still wet from snow. "_You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, _Gokudera-kun, _I'm telling you why…_"

"While you're all frolicking around like idiots, I'm doing the work of three people," Gokudera grumbled. "Just get your stupid party over with."

Haru huffed. "Hahi! You don't have to be such a grouch about it, Gokudera-kun," she said, coming up to his desk. "One – it's not a stupid party, it's a gathering of Famiglia, because it's that time of year. And two," here she smiled sweetly at him, and he was belatedly made aware of the fact she was wearing his favorite scent – cinnamon – and that she was close enough that he could smell that, "it's not complete without you."

"W-w-what are you…" he breathed as she inched towards his face.

"Mistletoe," she murmured.

"Where?" Gokudera half-exclaimed, half-whispered, reflexively looking up.

"Here." She pointed to her collar, and kissed him just as he looked to see the tiny sprig pinned on her dress.

When they broke apart, she smiled against his mouth. "See, you're not _that_ much of a Scrooge," she whispered, her breath ghosting across his tingling lips. "But you know…"

"Hm?" he asked, finally giving in to the desire to wrap his arms around her waist.

"…I don't see you rushing to give Tsuna-san anything for Christmas."

He stared at her.

"Ah, _shit._"

* * *

><p><strong>Bite My Tongue<strong>  
>Relient K (Five Score and Seven Years Ago)<em><br>3:30_

Haru Appreciation Day, recently, had never been complete without Gokudera Hayato sitting with a cup of strong coffee in front of Haru, pretending to be grumpy. Yet here she was, in the usual cakeshop, alone and with her chin on her hand. "Let's have Haru Appreciation Day this Sunday, he says," she grumbled. "Sheesh, that workaholic, he shouldn't have promised."

She bit into the chocolate gateau piece on her fork violently, and was unpleasantly surprised when she bit her own tongue, which put her in a bad mood until she recalled a particular adage from her childhood.

"When you bite your tongue," her mother once said, "someone who loves you is thinking of you."

"Mou, Hayato," she murmured, suddenly dreamy. _Stop thinking about me and hurry up with the paperwork so you can spend time with the real me._

* * *

><p><strong>Owari e Mukau Hajimari no Uta <strong>(The Song of the Beginning That Faces the End)  
>supercell (Today is a Beautiful Day)<em><br>2:10_

With a poof and a burst of pink smoke, 24 year old Haru reappeared into her present.

"Haru!" several people exclaimed in delight as one of their own again returned, but it was Gokudera who stepped to catch her when she tripped in surprise from suddenly waking up from what felt like a long sleep.

"Gokudera-kun!" she said happily, looking up from his arms. She looked around, seeing happy faces, and Irie Shoichi giving her a tentative smile from his post a bit ways from where they stood. "So, the Millefiore thing is really finally over?"

"Yeah," he said, a low rumble in his voice that barely hinted at his happiness. She was again taken by surprise when he hugged her tight. "But some things are just beginning."

* * *

><p><strong>Dress Me Up (English Version)<strong>  
>OLIVIA (Synchronicity)<em><br>5:55_

"For the last time, Gokudera-san," Haru said in a would-be calm voice, "just because I'm weak like this doesn't mean you can just put me down like that!"

Gokudera glared. He wasn't putting her down – telling her not to hang around them so much, especially in these crucial months of the Tenth's transition, was for her own safety and protection. Why couldn't she understand that? They were keeping the girls (_he was keeping her_) safe (_dammit_). "Just drop it, you stupid woman! We've been through this a million times – this life isn't for you!"

"Then I'll make it my own!" Haru exclaimed angrily, turning heel and going to Bianchi and Reborn's direction. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

She disappeared with the two hitmen for two weeks, and he had to wonder exactly what the combination of her words and her present company – that is, Bianchi and Reborn – meant.

* * *

><p><strong>Try a Little Tenderness<strong>  
>Michael Buble (It's Time)<em><br>4:05_

There were days when Haru went home looking as though she had been through the wringer and back, especially on days when her physical combat training with Hibari coincided with her Flame training with the Varia. And on those days – and Gokudera knew exactly which ones – he would find some excuse to be waiting at her doorstep, with a piece of cake at hand, muttering that he had business with CEDEF that he needed to run through with her, or something.

But they never talked about CEDEF or the Mafia when they sat on the couch in the living room. Instead, she would sit with her feet on his lap, and he would rub some life back into them while complaining he didn't have time to babysit the Tenth's tag-alongs. And then, inevitably, they would get to talking about their friends, her family, his sister, the proper way to clean a 0.45mm caliber gun, the theory of evolution, and _oh, this isn't cake from the usual place, is it? It's delicious!_

And the best thing was, she recognized his effort in not talking about work – a feat almost impossible for someone like him – and more importantly, didn't rib him about it.

* * *

><p><strong>My Sugar View<strong>  
>chatmonchy (Awa Come)<em><br>4:37_

"Okay," Gokudera said calmly as he held up the first ink blot, "what do you see?"

"Black forest cake," Haru said immediately.

"This?"

"Um… Blueberry cheesecake."

"And this…?"

"Tira misu!" Haru licked her lips.

"What the- fine, okay, how about this?"

Haru frowned for a bit, then said brightly, "Ginger Bread!"

Gokudera's face had been slowly contorting into a grimace, and he looked a bit crazy now. "You stupid woman, take this seriously and stop thinking of pastries all the time!"

"_No_," Haru said slowly, as though teaching one plus one to a stubborn toddler, "I meant the Millefiore mook, not the bread!" She shook her head. "Honestly, Gokudera-san, what part of that ink blot thingie looks like bread? Talk about crazy," she muttered under her breath.

Gokudera resisted the urge to slap the ink blot sheets on Haru's head and instead tried to see how the ink blot resembled the White Spell Magician. When he couldn't see it, he heaved a huge sigh and raised his eyes to the heavens – whatever possessed him to make psychological profiles of the Tenth's Family members needed to be exorcised immediately.

* * *

><p><strong>Haruka <strong>(Far Away)  
>SCANDAL (Haruka Single)<em><br>5:08_

Haru's lips trembled as she looked up the results of the Tokyo University exams. Those who already knew their results were whooping, shrieking, or being tossed in the air in jubilation, but all the brunette could think of was her own misery at the results. It just couldn't be. It was too much to bear.

"I _passed,_" she whispered in horror, clutching her face, feeling numbness that had nothing to do with February's biting cold weather.

She had passed the most grueling entrance exams to the most prestigious university in the Far East on her first try. Most people would be ecstatic with happiness and puffed up with pride. But all it meant to Haru was that she was going to spend another four years alone, away from her comrades, her best friends, her _Family_.

"Ch." Gokudera was suddenly beside her, looking at her name with an unfathomable expression. "That's not something to look so constipated about. You passed, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…" She bit her lip. "I didn't want to." She looked up at him desperately. "I wanted to come to Italy with all of you. If my father just didn't insist on Tokyo U…"

He rolled his eyes. "You stupid woman." ("Hahi!" she cried indignantly.) "There's always the Internet. And holidays. And summer vacation. And people are always coming and going between Italy and Japan. You won't miss us _that_ badly."

Her brow was still creased. "But-"

He sighed heavily and pressed his forehead against hers. She could smell that familiar mix of cigarettes and cologne at this distance. "I'll call every single day with updates. I'll check on you all the time, make sure you don't get rusty with protecting yourself. I'll take care of the Tenth and Kyoko-san and that stupid cow and everyone else. Okay? So don't cry anymore."

She smiled just a bit reluctantly. "You do all that. But don't forget to take care of yourself too. That's what I'm worried about the most."

Gokudera merely snorted at the ridiculousness of the suggestion.

* * *

><p><strong>Sway<strong>  
>Michael Buble (Michael Buble)<em><br>3:08_

Haru shot him a sultry smile, her eyes shining under heavy eyelids. Gokudera smirked and pulled her close, almost as if to kiss her – but they stop just a centimeter short. She twirled out of his reach, her hips swaying tantalizingly, making graceful figure eights as she slow, slow, quick-quick slow-stepped backwards. He stepped on rhythm closer and closer, his eyes focused solely on her. She lightly hooked her index finger on the opening of his button-down shirt, gently pulling him toward her. Suddenly, he grabbed her around the waist and stepped in tempo with her, before dipping her dangerously low on the floor, their gaze intensely heated and locked to each other – just as the song ended.

He eased her back on her feet as they breathed a little heavily. The room was dead-still as Tsuna and his Famiglia watched with mouths in round O's.

"And that, Tenth, is how you do the tango," Gokudera explained as a matter-of-factly, flushed from activity but all smiles nonetheless. "It's easy enough, you just need a bit of practice to be able to do it the way we did."

"_Practice?_" Tsuna squawked. Ryohei and Yamamoto looked at each other, swallowing hard. Kyoko's and Hana's faces were steaming and red. "No, Gokudera-kun, I-I don't think so."

"But it's really easy, Tsuna-san!" Haru exclaimed encouragingly. "Haru could teach you-"

Dino cleared his throat. "You two misunderstand. It's not that we can't do the tango, but… we certainly can't do it the way you two did it, not even with practice."

"Why? What's so different with the way we did it?" Gokudera asked.

Bianchi smirked as she viewed the hands still intertwined with each other. "Well, I doubt any of us can possibly replicate with our partners the palpable sexual tension between the two of you while you were dancing."

* * *

><p><strong>If My Heart was a House<strong>  
>Owl City (Ocean Eyes)<em><br>4:08_

Missions away from the Vongola's Sicilian territory always seemed to take a toll on Gokudera's emotional well-being. He never had such problems before meeting the Tenth and the rest of them – but recently, he had always been reluctant to leave home, even if it was for the Tenth's sake.

It was probably because he now had something – or rather, someone – he would be leaving every time he left home.

It was even worse when _she _was the one who had to go far away. He would stay up late, wondering how she was and if she was safe – if she remembered, as he often did himself, that there was someone she had to go home to. He (as pathetic as it was) would curl up in their bed, thinking of her bright brown eyes and her cheerful smile and then realize that his night shirt smelled strangely of her.

And then he would miss her intensely.

But he knew it was all right – they always went home, in the end. Because no matter where they went or how far they had gone, they always found each other. It didn't even have to be in Sicily, or in Namimori, or in any of those places. Finding each other was enough for them to feel that they were home.

* * *

><p><strong>Ceyrai Says: <strong>About the songs or the drabbles-

_Come Right Out and Say It: _The song is a bit pessimistic of what the singer wants the other person to say. I like to pretend that the other person actually really wants to say "I love you" to the singer, but the singer just goes on to assume the worst before anyone actually says anything.

_Christmas Medley: _Yes, it's thirteen minutes long.

_Bite My Tongue: _Okay, I took it ENTIRELY out of context. It's actually about the singer holding back what he wants to say. It's totally a coincidence that this song and its antithesis (Come Right Out and Say It) is in the same meme though.

_The Song of the Beginning That Faces the End: _Again, taken out of context because the song is in Japanese and I didn't want to have to look up the English translation.

_Dress Me Up: _In contrast to the two previous entries, the fic born out of this one is pretty literal.

_Try a Little Tenderness: _The bit about Haru's training and being in CEDEF is based on my fic Snow White and Rose Red, about Kyoko and Haru being more useful than in canon. [/shameless plug]

_My Sugar View: _Another title taken way too literally. Oh, come on, the title's ridiculous and the lyrics are in Japanese – cut me some slack. :D

_Haruka: _Why didn't Gokudera pass the Tokyo U exams? Because he didn't take it in the first place.

_Sway: _wasn't written as a tango but as a mambo, but I thought the tango would better evoke the sensuality of what Gokudera and Haru were doing. And yes, Gokudera can dance! He just doesn't like doing it unless it's for Tsuna's sake. :D

_If My Heart was a House: _a fitting end for this meme.

Tell me your favorite in a review! Also, I recommend listening to these songs, as they're excellent.


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